Pefection
by Rae TB
Summary: ...And if we shut our eyes, make a wish, and pretend maybe that alone will be good enough. Maybe that alone will be perfection. HiroBrooklyn.


Well, as you ALL know I've been experimenting with different Brooklyn pairings...and now it is time for HiroBrooklyn to take center stage before you all chase me off with brooms for writing so much. XD Anyway, this is Hiro talking to Brooklyn and thinking about things while Brooklyn's battle with Tyson happens, etc. Not everything happens like it does in the series...actually...NOTHING happens like it does in the series...but let's _pretend_ it does. XD

Dedication: to Astera Snape, and Ray4ever because they just rock like that.

* * *

I'm not quite sure just where, when, or why things had started to break apart. Maybe it had been because of your first loss or maybe it had been because you hadn't been prepared for it. Your entire life you were praised as a genius. You were supposed to be infallible. That's what you had been told several times, what you had told yourself. You had every right to think that - you had never lost once in your life.

You've confided all your struggles in me. You had always been talented, so I've heard. It was hard to make friends because of your "perfection". You were neglected in favor of your siblings that needed attention because they weren't flawless. You felt a tremendous amount of pressure and had to endure hate from both yourself and others. Everyone thought your life had been easy just because you were supposed to be "perfect".

Everyone was wrong.

No one knew you like I did. No one knows you like I do. You are by no means perfection, but in my eyes you are. You are as close as anyone will ever come to it.

If I recall correctly, during your second match against Kai Garland had said:

"He's supposed to be our secret weapon...but right now...he looks human."

You are more human than anyone else will ever know. But at the same time, you're more angelic, godlier than anyone else could understand. Like I said: no one knows you better than I do. But no one knows me better than you, Brooklyn. We understand each other on a level that goes beyond words. I see into your soul, and you see into mine. We're so different, yet so alike.

Neither of us has ever felt like we belonged anywhere...and so we found a place we could fit in perfectly - with each other.

The first day I had talked to you about training you had been cocky, arrogant, so sure of yourself. I remember gazing at you from where you were on the balcony, sitting on a railing. Your legs were swinging back and forth rhythmically, your eyes had been the brightest of teal. Happiness was reflected within the watery depths of your gaze, and it chilled me to my core. Your hair fell in your face and your orange locks shined in the sun, making you look like an angel. The drop below was enough to kill you if you fell. You may have been an angel, but you were an angel without wings. You were susceptible to the dangers of life, death included. Even though I didn't really know you all that well at the time, I couldn't let you die. In some celestial way, I felt like I did know you and I had to save you. It was true you were in no immediate danger but I would take no chances. I pulled you down and you had yelped, looking at me in shock.

I wonder what you were thinking Brooklyn...Were you shocked I had actually stopped you from doing something even if it was as simplistic as sitting on a railing? Did it surprise you that I had dared to deny you whereas everyone else you've ever met hasn't cared what you've done?

"I wouldn't have fallen, you know..." you mumbled with a hint of slight agitation in your tone. Your cheeks were flushed a light shade of pink. You weren't used to being embarrassed, were you Brooklyn? That was one of many things you would have to learn to deal with.

"How can you be so sure?" I had asked.

"I never fell before," you answered. Your response shocked me. I had never met anyone as confident as you. You were always an interesting person, always making life a new exciting adventure.

"Just like you never lose, isn't that right?" I questioned.

"Yes...that's right..." you trailed.

"Well, as my student you will experience many firsts including your first loss, and your first fall. Be warned, I won't always be there to catch you. This is my first lesson Brooklyn - be sure of nothing."

"You worry too much Hiro."

Did you take my advice to heart Brooklyn?...Right now, it's never been more obvious that you hadn't. Your lovely heart is tainted black now. It is filled with the desire to win, to crush, and to annihilate everything in your path. This isn't the soft and gentle Brooklyn I know, the one I had seen the day I had first laid eyes on him...on you. This isn't my wingless angel. This is a monster of my own creation. I had pushed you too hard. You had been perfectly content with the way life was before I had come along. But I had forced you out of that comfort zone far too swiftly and with more force than you could handle.

I yelled at you, telling you the sport had no place for spoiled brats. I didn't want to see you hurting Brooklyn. That's not what I wanted. Not now or ever. I just couldn't stand knowing this had all happened because of me. You just wanted me to be happy...and so even though you didn't want to, you went out and you fought for me. For the first time ever, you had lost. It wasn't only the beybattle where that had happened. You had lost your way. You had lost yourself. Instead of helping you, I just caused you more hurt, more sorrow. I knew what might happen if you were to lose but I took the gamble. I guess I had made the mistake everyone else did. I had believed you were perfect and as a result I lost something far more valuable than perfection - you.

Your eyes don't even seem to be there anymore...They're hollow, emptied out and depleted of all life. You had had so much fun during your first battle with Kai. It was the first time you had encountered someone like him. Up until then you had battled people like Garland - competitors with no heart or love of the game. To you watching Kai take it so seriously was an amusing mystery. You enjoyed playing with him like a cat would with a mouse, provoking and teasing him all the way through. I enjoyed watching. You were so sure that you were superior, that he was wasting your time.

Then the unthinkable happened.

The second time around, Kai beat you.

The first time you had battled him you had been far the better blader. You still were. There was no question you were stronger, more skilled, and all around more talented. But Kai had something you didn't.

Kai had heart, and dedication.

To you it was just a game. To him, it was life.

To you, life in general was just a game.

But that's what I liked about you Brooklyn. You never took anything too seriously. You knew how to enjoy life, how to appreciate everything. Kai's heart and dedication was focused on a sport. Yours was focused on life. That was the way it was before this match had happened. Before wins and losses even mattered. Or had they mattered all along?

Right now, you're being eaten alive by your own power. The dark energy you're emitting is swallowing you whole before my eyes and there is nothing I can do. A strong wind you caused starts to blow me away. Do you even care about me anymore?

"BROOKLYN!" I cry and for a split second you look back. For a split second our eyes meet, for a split second my heart stops beating, and for a split second I know everything is going to be alright.

The gust of wind I was hit with sends me flying into the ground with a loud impact and I am brought back to reality. Everything is not going to be alright. At least not until you're you again. Not until you're here by my side once more. You hear the thud my body causes and once more you look back.

This time our eyes lock for even longer and your gaze seems to soften a bit, "I wouldn't have fallen, you know," you whisper, my eyes widening.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..." I choke through my tears, but I do know. If it hadn't been for me you never would have fallen. But then again, you never would have even tried to fly. You had so much talent Brooklyn, you still do. It pained me to see you doing nothing with it. Sometimes to get somewhere, risks have to be taken. But if I had known just how much was at risk...I never would have dared to interfere in your life.

"I never fell before," you answered. "Just like I never lost before..." You grin in a way that chills me to the bone. By now you seem demented, evil, and insane. You appear to have forgotten about the beybattle but your blade is spinning stronger than before, still fighting Tyson's.

"That's true...Your growth has been incredible. In the time I've taught you, you've experienced many firsts including your first loss and your first fall. But this time I am here to catch you. I'll always be here to catch you even if I said differently. This is my final lesson Brooklyn - be sure of nothing... except for my commitment to you," I get out. Did you take my advice to heart Brooklyn?...Right now, it's never been more obvious that you have. The grin that was on your face is gone now as you crash to your knees. The evil aura that surrounded you has vanished and your eyes are no longer hollow. You call your blade back and I rush to your side.

My brother too deserves an apology but you come first Brooklyn. You always have. I have betrayed both you and Tyson in the worst of ways. Tyson gave up on me, just as he should have but you never left my side. While I have immense respect for them, it isn't my family that makes me feel like I belong somewhere.

It's you.

My arms wrap around you and I rock your body back and forth trying to calm your shaking form. "Shh...it's alright," I soothe pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead. "Everything is going to be alright now..." I whisper, trying to assure myself as you sniffle in response. You've never been so lost, so confused, but I'm here. I will always be here. You are by no means perfection but in my eyes you are. You are as close as anyone will ever come to it.

And if we shut our eyes, make a wish, and pretend maybe that alone will be good enough. Maybe that alone will be perfection.


End file.
